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Town Bridge in Northwich to be closed for roadworks

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nicksey wrote:

Carlos99 wrote:
I agree with Matthew, and as for Nicksey! you lost the plot mate? The traffic doesn't back UP castle Hill anymore you plank! It queues down it and over Hayhurst bridge. However, this isn't anything to do with the one way system. Its entirely due to the poorly timed lights at the other end of Castle at the Iron Bridge!

The one way system is much better, it allows for free flowing traffic. The problems are entirely caused by stupid drivers! Like the ones that sit waiting to change lane BEFORE they go over town bridge!!

The only question I would have about reversing the one way this weekend is....where do you go at the bottom of castle hill? Surely the lay out of the new junction prevents you being able to turn right at all?

Carlos99 - I think you have proven yourself to be the plank here!

Your argument makes no sense at all. I sit in a queue of traffic virtually every day whilst travelling uphill from Northwich towards Castle/Hartford so the traffic does indeed back up castle hill. If I turn left out of Chester Way at the bottom of Navigation Rd the traffic here is often solid right up to the Iron bridge. That's a fact! These queues are caused by the gyratory forcing all traffic out onto Castle Street instead of previously allowing drivers to choose the best route to suit their destination. This causes bottlenecks on Castle St in both directions at various times of the day.

And as for the lights at the Iron Bridge causing queues down to the town then you have certainly lost the plot mate. If the traffic has already passed through the lights how can it then cause a queue further on down the road.

I used to live in Northwich for 9 years.
I come to Northwich only on a Saturday now and driving in and around Northwich is a pleasure now compared to how it used to be.
It was a nightmare before and I always advised people to avoid driving into town on a Saturday.
It is so much better now the traffic flows more freely."

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YEARS of planning will be put to the test at the weekend when Northwich’s one-way system faces a bridge closure.

Town Bridge, a Grade Two listed structure, will be closed for maintenance from 6pm on Saturday, June 7, to 4pm on Sunday, June 8.

During this time the gyratory system will be suspended to allow traffic to travel in both directions.

The Canal and River Trust will work overnight on Saturday to replace the oak threshold beams on the historic bridge then Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) will resurface the road on Sunday.

Dave Clarkson, senior principal engineer with the Canal and River Trust, said: “I’m hoping it will all go smoothly – unlike the current road surface.

“The big challenge here, that both the Canal and River Trust and the council have been working closely in partnership on, is to work in the traffic management system that enables us to reverse the one-way system and ensure it’s easy to implement.

“There was a long consultation between ourselves and the council when they first brought in the one-way system because it included two bridges.

“You can’t take one bridge out and carry on working through with the one-way, so it makes it more interesting.

“We had a look at it from the point of view of something unforeseen occurring that caused one of the bridges to be locked off and us having to implement something quite quickly.

“We’ve done some fine tuning as we’ve approached these works.

“The proof will be in the pudding but I think the system we’re going to implement will give us two-way running and avoid any significant diversion route.”

The bridge, built in 1899, is a Grade Two listed structure so engineers also have to work closely with English Heritage and use original materials in any replacement work.

The hard wearing timber threshold beams last an average of 14 years, although with changes to the traffic flow caused by the gyratory this will be closely monitored in future.

Clr Lynn Riley, CWAC’s executive member for localities, said: “We have worked closely with the trust to schedule this closure at a time when it will cause least disruption and we hope that implementing a temporary two-way system will help to keep traffic flowing.”

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